Thursday, June 18, 2015

Dope Review (2015)

Rick Famuyiwa’s
“Dope” is exuberant, freewheeling and feels extremely personal. While watching I
was somewhat reminded of my experiences watching the exhilarating, rebellious,
early works of famous French New Wave directors like Jean luc-Godard and Francois
Truffaut. Famuyiwa—who also wrote the screenplay-- is forty one years old and
already has four directorial credits under his belt, though “Dope” feels like
it was directed by a guy in his twenties making his explosive directorial
debut; ready to make a splash in the independent movie scene.

“Dope” is a coming of age story set in the Inglewood
neighborhood in Los Angeles. There is a linear plot of sorts but the picture
often gets sidetracked and goes off on wild tangents.Pretty quickly we realize Famuyiwa is more
interested in atmosphere than story. He captures the day-to-day lives of a
black teen and his friends living in a tough neighborhood (the violence, the
slang, the tender moments, etc.) with a combination of realism and a heightened
comedic sensibility. The movie can be messy and unfocused at times but it has a
pulse. And beneath its freewheeling exterior, important ideas are being
addressed—mainly pertaining to identity, stereotypes and the tendency our
society has to unfairly categorize people--making the antics of movie more
impactful in the long run.

“Dope” is about Malcolm (Shameik Moore) an eighteen-year-old
nerd. He gets straight A’s, has his hopes set on attending Harvard and plays in
a punk band with his friends Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) and Jib (Tony Revolori).
He’s a 90’s Hip Hop geek, complete with a “Fresh Prince of Bellaire” style
t-shirt and a flat top haircut. Except for the occasional beating by a group of
bullies at school, Malcolm appears to be content with his nerd outcast self,
not wanting to have anything to do with the illegal activities happening around
him. However, whether he likes it or not, crime finds him. Through a series of
unfortunate and comedic circumstances, Malcolm and his friends are thrust into
an adventure involving drugs, Bitcoins and a large cast of colorful
characters.

Throughout the movie, Malcolm is constantly being forced
into strict categories of identity; being viewed by some as “different” and
others as “normal.” To practically everyone in his neighborhood he’s a geek who
wears tacky clothing and is into “white people things “(getting good grades,
wanting to go to college, etc.). His ambition to go beyond his tough
circumstances and disinterest in crime and gangs make him stick out in Inglewood.
Meanwhile, to the rest of the world--including the admissions people at
Harvard-- he’s simply a black teenager from a tough neighborhood with a single
mom and a father he’s never met like so many others from his area. And like so
many others, he does eventually go down the path of crime, further encouraging the
unfair stereotypical view of black males in south Central LA. In both cases
he’s viewed as a stereotype, but which is his true self? In Malcolm’s own
words: “am I a geek or a menace?” In actuality though Malcolm isn’t simply a
geek or a menace. We’re all
complicated, multi faceted individuals. We’re not defined by one trait--our
clothing or our behavior and we’re not defined by our circumstances.

Relative newcomer Moore is a sensation, giving Malcolm the
perfect blend of arrogance and awkwardness. He exudes such natural charm and
earnestness (you never get the impression he’s acting) and has near perfect
comedic timing. And it’s amazing to watch Malcolm’s journey, from an outcast
stuck in the 90’s to a well-rounded adult aware of the sometimes cruel and
unfair world around him.Clemons and Jib
are also strong as Malcolm’s loving best friends, who stick by his side even
when things get iffy.

The movie is primarily comedic in tone, the trio’s situation
getting worse and their adventure getting increasingly nutty as the movie goes
on. Even after a more intense scene has taken place, (a club getting shot up
during a party) a comedic one usually follows. It’s as if Famuyiwa is
suggesting that crime and violence have become such a normal part of life in
this neighborhood that it’s not shocking anymore. Yet, through these wacky
rambling escapades Famuyiwa also takes our expectations about how people from
this particular kind of environment are “supposed” to act and turns them upside
down. For example, low level drug dealers having a conversation about drone
strikes and politics. At one point a menacing gangster uses an iPad to track an
iPhone. When Famuyiwa isn’t shattering stereotypes and misconceptions, he turns
them up to a ridiculous level, making them absurd.

There’s plenty more I could talk about in “Dope,” but I’d
rather leave it for you to discover. As mentioned before it can feel unfocused
and could definitely benefit from being trimmed in a few areas. Also the climax
is a little too didactic and heavy-handed. It’s powerful, for sure, hammering
home the points about identity and stereotypes I discussed earlier on but it
isn’t in keeping with the movie’s tone. Still, I can’t deny how good I felt
while watching “Dope.” It manages to take on important, heavy themes--leaving
much to discuss--while also being energetic, funny and accessible in
presentation. From this point on, Nick Famuyiwa you have my full attention.